Panic trap
A panic trap is an obstacle on an escape route , a bottleneck or a door that can become a serious threat in the event of panic . The term is u. a. used in fire protection and construction planning .
A typical example of a panic trap is a door on an escape route that opens against the direction of escape. People who want to open the door can be pressed against the door by following people in the event of a mass panic , which would ultimately prevent them from opening. Doors on critical routes can be equipped with panic locks for such cases .
The building regulations for public and commercial buildings state that emergency doors must open in the direction of the escape routes. This is not always the case in old and privately used buildings, but should be aimed for. An exception are the doors of rooms in which only a few people can stay (e.g. offices for one or two people), but whose door leaves would narrow or block a larger escape route if opened to the outside.
A similar example of a panic trap is a room for people in need whose doors open inwards - for example a bathroom or the toilets in a care facility. If a disabled person falls and comes to rest behind the locked door (because they are trying to leave the room), they could be injured by someone rushing to help them when opening the door. Sliding doors , for example, can help here .
A common feature of panic traps is that they pose no danger in themselves and that self-liberation would be possible under normal circumstances. Only rash or panic action leads to fatal consequences due to the structural conditions.
The term is also used in a figurative sense. For example, to describe a situation in which people overreact (or oversteer if it is a control process) due to a lack of (positive) feedback and a critical situation only arises as a result of this incorrect behavior.
The term also appears in computer science . For example, in a patent from the computer company Hewlett-Packard to describe a control function.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Escape routes - emergency exits. Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG), May 31, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2019 .
- ↑ http://www.shopwiki.de/standardleistungsbuch ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Construction planning: specifications, drafting, etc.
- ↑ Footnote 545 on page 150 in the book Internal Brand Management: Anchoring the brand identity in employee behavior by Cornelia Wittke-Kothe
- ↑ Document DE19650509C2 February 28, 2002 . Title: Apparatus and Procedure for Eliminating Incorrect Results in Executing Instructions, September 4, 1997
